The Sacrifice
by Nondescript
Summary: A girl with a powerful aura pops into existance and Lina is the first person she meets. She doesn't know anything about herself, but Lina is deturmined to get the the bottom on the mystery. Dragons and Mazoku are also interested. My first Slayers story


Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers.  
  
/* Thank you for reading! This is my first posted Slayers fic. I put it up for a few hours under the name "Chaotic Tide," but took it down quickly to do a great deal of modifications. Just to let you know, I want to know what you the reader wants to happen in the story. I know the basic plot, but if there is anything you want to see, let me know. I can't make any guarantees, but I will put everything into consideration and it will indeed influence my writing. Thanks again for reading - Liz.*/  
  
Chapter 1  
  
A waitress balanced several dozen dishes as she weaved her way through the busy restaurant where she worked. She ignored the smirks she received from the males in the establishment. She was by no means beautiful, but the long bangs that hid her eyes made her look mysterious and attractive. She set her burden down and looked at the time - her shift was over. She undid her apron but stopped suddenly with a peculiar expression on her face. She'd noticed something. "Hmm," she said silently to herself.  
  
Two travelers followed a narrow dirt road that meandered through an undulating field full of ripe, yellow grasses. The surrounding area had a sparse population and this road was generally only used by the occasional farmer heading to town, meaning it was far from being well kept. One of the travelers, a short red-headed sorceress, was quick to realize this. "Gya! Damn this mud!" Lina stopped and shook her boot violently. "Why can't this road be better maintained? Huh? Huh!" She shook a fist in anger and growled menacingly. "I can't believe I let you drag me to this good-for-nothing, backwards place. There're no bandits to kill and no treasure to find! There's nothing to do and I'm bored! Bored! ...And there's MUD on my BOOT!" She again began shaking her boot around before heading off to the side of the road to wipe it on some grass.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Gourry while he looked out to the distance. "I think there's more mud ahead."  
  
Lina screamed. "I can't take this anymore!" She crossed her arms defiantly and marched off the road. She plopped herself down on some of the shorter grasses and glared at the ground.  
  
Her companion followed her, but wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. After a moment be became distracted with an orange butterfly fluttering in the breeze. He leaned forward to watch it more closely, mesmerized by its erratic flight until it landed peacefully on his nose. His eyes widened and he undertook an expression of uncertainty. "Lina..." he whined helplessly. Lina looked up at him, ready to smack him if he did anything stupid. Instead of becoming angrier, however, she smiled. The blonde swordsman now had his eyes crossed as he wiggled his nose in an attempt to make the butterfly leave. A sudden look of panic crossed her companion's face. "A-A-A-CHOO!" Gourry watched as the butterfly flew away.  
  
The truth was that Lina had actually lead Gourry to this pastoral land, not vice versa. After defeating Darkstar and Gourry gave away his Sword of Light, she had no excuse to follow him. Therefore she announced that since the sword had actually belonged to her, she was going to find a suitable replacement. This task was proving more difficult than anticipated: Gourry wanted something he could pass down from generation to generation while Lina wanted something exceedingly valuable at a cheap price. Such an item was not easy to find, so they found themselves traveling from town to town in search of a blacksmith who could accommodate them. Naturally they got a replacement sword for Gourry, but although it was of a decent caliber it was nothing out of the ordinary and by no means satisfactory.  
  
The young sorceress stood and stretched her legs. "Well, we'd better get going," she mused aloud. "I'm hungry and I want to get to the next town as soon as poss-" Lina paused, a troubled look masking her features.  
  
Though normally clueless, Gourry did pick up on his companion's change in mood. "Eh? Lina? There something wrong? Did you hear something?" He cocked his head and put his ear to the wind. "I don't here anything..."  
  
"I didn't hear anything," said Lina in a quiet, careful voice. "I felt something." She glanced up, and when she next spoke she spoke with an utterly serious tone to her voice. "Something with enormous magical power has suddenly come into this world. I can feel it. It's close by." The wind kicked up, dramatically making her cape plume out behind her.  
  
"You can feel stuff like that?!" exclaimed Gourry with utter amazement. "Cool!" He received a boot to the head.  
  
"Cool?! This is serious stuff, you jellyfish-for-brains! Something powerful JUST came into existence and we have a chance to be the first to see it!"  
  
Gourry seemed confused. "We do?"  
  
"YES! Just come on!" She broke into a run, letting a very befuddled Gourry follow. They traveled over a number of hills and declivities before they reached an enormous lake. The two stopped at its banks and looked out upon the water. "It's here," whispered Lina in a mystic tone.  
  
"Uhh.." Gourry did his best to try and find out what Lina was talking about. "I don't see anything."  
  
Lina nodded her head, "Neither do I, but something's coming." She wrapped her arms around her small frame as if she were cold. The magic in this area was very potent and it made shivers run up and down her spine. She strained her eyes and then caught sight of something far out over the water in the exact center of the lake. She pointed to what she saw. "Look!" A golden ball of substance materialized in the air and began to fluctuate in size. It squirmed and grew and eventually took a humanoid form. The golden glow eventually vanished and the figure fell directly into the water.  
  
"Hey! That's a person!" said Gourry, stating the obvious. It was too far to determine whether the person was male or female, but whoever it was splashed in the water violently, struggling to keep their head above water. "I don't think he can swim!" He automatically began to remove his armor so he might save the drowning person.  
  
Lina stopped him. "No, it's too far out. RAYWING!" Her body floated up into the air and she flew at lightning speed to meet the mysterious figure. She was now close enough to determine this person was formed in the shape of a young woman. Lina picked the girl up and could feel the energy that still radiated from her body. She marveled at the normal appearance of the woman she carried, and wondered what she could possibly be - she couldn't be human. Seeing she was saved, the girl allowed herself to faint from exhaustion. "Hey! You can't just do that!" yelled Lina, but she decided she might as well shrug it off and head back to the shore where Gourry waited.  
  
"AAAAH! She's NAKED!" was the swordsman's response when Lina flew close enough for him to see. He instantly went red and turned himself around, covering his eyes for good measure. "I'm not looking. I'm not looking. I'm not looking."  
  
"Can it, Gourry!" barked Lina as she carefully set the strange girl down. She quickly unhooked her cape and covered the girl with it to maintain some decency. The sorceress then sat down beside the unconscious girl and pondered. "I wonder what she is..."  
  
Gourry's face brightened. He peeked behind his shoulder to see if it was safe and then announced with one outstretched finger in the air, "I know what she is! She's a mermaid!"  
  
Lina sweatdropped. "A mermaid?! Where did you come up with THAT stupid idea?"  
  
He shrugged. "Well, she came from the water...And my Dad used to tell me that mermaids came from the sea. He said they were pretty too, and she's pretty!" He stopped when a rock smacked his head.  
  
"She isn't a mermaid!!!" She sat down and again examined the girl. She was tall and almost lanky in appearance with thick, dark brown hair. Before she fainted Lina could see that the girl had a pair of light, almost golden colored hazel eyes. There was nothing inhuman about her features. She sighed in her sleep and smiled, causing Lina to soften her gaze. For some reason, Lina felt a connection with this girl, but she decided to ignore the feeling. What she did know is that she needed to keep this girl until she figured out what was going on.  
  
Sunlight streamed through the window and landed on the face of the sleeping girl. She moved in her sleep and her eyes fluttered open. What she saw were two faces staring down at her. Her first reaction was to sit strait up in a panic, smacking her head against the two that hovered above. "AAAAAAAH!" yelled Lina as she held her throbbing noggin. She turned and shook her fist at the girl. "What's the big idea?"  
  
"Aw, Lina. Don't be too hard on her! She just woke up!" Gourry also rubbed his head in pain, but he was more good-natured about the situation.  
  
Lina turned her ferocity toward her companion. "Shut up, Gourry! I want some answers and I want them NOW!" She then pointed at the girl. "Who are you and why are you here?"  
  
The girl looked about, apparently unconcerned with Lina's temper. "...W- where am I?" Her voice was soft and silent. She looked down at herself, realizing she was wearing a pair of pajamas. "What are these?"  
  
Lina rolled her eyes. "PJ's the inn provided. You're in an INN. In town." She leaned in very close to the girl and looked her in the eye. "Do you know what a town is?" She was half-sarcastic.  
  
A thoughtful expression crossed the girl's face, and then her lips formed a cocked smile. She'd apparently come to some decision. She tilted her head cutely and beamed. "No, what is it?"  
  
Lina's jaw dropped, but before she could say anything Gourry made his comment. "Wow - hey, Lina! Even I know what a town is! How 'bout that?" He smiled proudly but the sorceress ignored him.  
  
"You don't know ANYTHING?! Uhg! What's your name? Do you have a name? Can you tell me that?" Lina now paced around the room as she waved her arms about. The girl watched as with wide eyes as if Lina had just grown another head.  
  
"A name?" She placed a finger to her mouth and looked up in the air, thinking. "I hadn't thought of that. I need one of those, don't I?"  
  
Gourry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they're pretty darn useful! Just about everybody I know has one!"  
  
The girl seemed very interested. "That so?"  
  
"IDA!" Lina screamed. Both Gourry and the girl turned to look at her. She pointed up to the air, as if she'd just made some proclamation. "Ida is your name. Now that's over with, let's get down to business. What are you?"  
  
Ida seemed confused. "Er, what are you?"  
  
"Don't just repeat me! Are you a Dragon? Are you a Mazoku? You certainly aren't a human!" Lina placed her hands at her hips and tapped her foot impatiently. Ida said nothing, but looked confused. "Great! All I need is another Gourry running around. .....Fine! I'll just accept the fact you're clueless!"  
  
The girls raised her hand, "I thought I was Ida!" Lina sweatdropped.  
  
Lina slapped her head. "You're hopeless. Right, well -" She was interrupted when a knock was heard at the door. Gourry dutifully opened it to reveal a young man holding an envelope.  
  
"Ma'am," said the man with extreme care - he had already felt the sorceress's wrath. "There's a letter for you." He held the letter as far out as he could and winced when Lina snatched it away. Once it was out of his hands he turned tail and ran. Neither Lina nor Gourry paid his behavior any mind - it was normal.  
  
Lina ripped open the enveloped and read the letter. "Hey, Gourry! It's from Amelia! She wants us to join a special expedition to undiscovered lands west of the former barrier. Hey! It says here we'll be PAID to adventure! Paid!" Her eyes became starry with the prospect. "New treasure to find! New bandits to kill!"  
  
"But, Lina!" whined Gourry. "I thought we were looking for a sword!"  
  
Lina was still lost in the euphoria of the chance of untold riches. "Oh, Gourry, don't worry your porridge brains about that! There will be swords in the new lands as well. But just think - we'll be able to search completely new and different lands and we won't be distracted with Darkstar stuff! No end of the world prophecies, no Overworld plots to send dark lords to our world, no depressed Ancient dragons to worry about..." She sighed happily. She then pointed to Ida, "And you're coming with us! I'm not letting a powerful being run around clueless! And on the off chance prophecies of doom suddenly appear, I'm sure you'll be useful!"  
  
"There's always an advantage for you worked in there, isn't there, Lina?"  
  
"What is THAT supposed to mean?!"  
  
Somewhere on an island far from the reach of both Dragons and men, guarded by a menagerie of flesh-eating predators, sat a viciously beautiful woman on a magnificent throne. Golden hair fell upon her smooth, tan shoulders and curled all the way down to her seductive legs, sensuously decorated with metal jangles. She casually smoked as she spoke aloud to her minion. "Well, someone got to it before we did. If only we'd known where it would happen we could have had someone waiting." She sighed. "Oh well, we'll have to make do. What we need is to do is get information - an edge." She took another drag on her cigarette. "I doubt the Dragons will get there before us - they're so slow nowadays... Follow them and tell me what's what," the Beastmaster smiled, "And make friends if you can. It would be more than convenient to be on its good side, you know." She made an amused noise deep in her throat, as if she'd just said something funny.  
  
Her minion lifted his bowed head, his eyes glittering violet. "Yes, my Mistress." He smiled broadly as he stood to his full height. "Your wish is my command!"  
  
  
  
/* I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter and I hope it wasn't too boring. I promise things will get more exciting later! Also, don't be shy. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to happen. I can't assure anything, but your suggestions will influence my writing. Enjoy!*/ 


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